


Magical Adventures Triforce Hunters Go!

by altalemur



Category: GoGo Sentai Boukenger, Steven Universe (Cartoon), The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: Action Girl!Sakura, Crack, Demon-hunter!Kurogane, F/M, Gem!Fai, Ninja!Sakura, Prince!Syaoran, Rule 63, lots of crossovers, sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-04
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-05-24 18:09:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6162085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/altalemur/pseuds/altalemur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What does a Prince of Hyrule, a Sheikah would-be guard, a runaway Homeworld Gem, a hanyou demon hunter, and a magical talking pork bun have in common? They’re Tsubasa family, of course. The crossover no one actually asked for, but you all deserve anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Yuuko's shop

They had made the last few miles to the ancient temple on foot. Sakura had enough training to know their horses would leave an obvious trail, despite the extra cost of time of leaving them behind. And besides, it wasn’t like they could take the horses with them on the rest of their journey. Prince Syaoran had insisted on carrying his share of the luggage, but he was already looking tired. Sakura sat down on a relatively flat rock, offering him some water. Prince Syaoran took it gratefully.

Syaoran closed his eyes, a hand going to his chest, “We’re close to the gateway. I can feel it.” He lifted a hand, pointing towards a rougher terrain. Sakura had been worried that was the direction they needed to go.

Sakura looked behind them, trying to look more competent than she was feeling. “It… doesn’t seem like we’re being followed. I’ll scout ahead while you rest, Prince Syaoran.”

Sakura leapt into the higher branches of a tree, travelling more swiftly above the underbrush. She didn’t see any large wild animals or enemy, although she saw a fallen tree that would prove an obstacle. Sakura made her way back to Syaoran.

“We’ll have to go around that way,” Sakura indicated the path with her hand. “But there’s a clearing not too far from here.” Syaoran nodded and followed Sakura.

Once in the clearing, Syaoran gasped and ran toward what Sakura thought was a crumbling archway, roughly shaped like a half-circle. 

“This is it. This is the gateway to a place beyond our world, where the Triforce of Wisdom was sent a hundred years ago.”

“How do we get the Triforce from the gateway?”

“We don’t… well, I’ll have to go find it. The last Queen Zelda knew that evil would try to use her Triforce piece, so she shattered it and then sent it far away. I can only find it if I pass the trials that are placed around each shard. It… it won’t be easy and it might take a long time. You’ve made sure I safely reached the gateway. If you want to go back, you can.”

Sakura shook her head. “No, I’m coming with you! All of Hyrule is counting on you returning with the power to banish those invaders. I want to help you! That is… if you think I could. I know I’m not fully trained as a real Sheikah, and I was the only one who wasn’t needed to fight at the palace… but I still want to help you in any way I can.”

Syaoran ducked to hide his blush. “That.. that would be appreciated.” He looked back at the dilapidated gateway. 

“I think… I just have to do this.” Syaoran stood in front of the gateway, holding up his hands and concentrated. After a moment, the gateway lit up. The stones began moving in a clockwise motion, from where they disappeared into the ground. Finally the space inside the gateway turned to pure white light. Sakura came up beside him and held his hand. They walked into the gateway together.

**

Syaoran and Sakura stumbled slightly through the gateway, like a person expecting another stair but finding level ground instead. In front of them was a beautiful, regal-looking woman.

“Welcome to my wish shop. I am the Dimensional Witch, Yuuko.”

The two teenagers stared at Yuuko. Apparently they weren’t expecting to arrive here. Not everyone did. Often times, an inter-dimensional portal set to “wherever” opened to her little shop.

“If you’re here, then you have a wish. But first, introductions.”

“Oh right! I’m Prince Syaoran of Hyrule. This is, um, Sakura my Sheikah guard. We are looking for the lost Triforce of Wisdom.”

“Hmm… That would be impossible for you right now. I can see why you need my help. Ah, more clients are coming.” 

Yuuko looked behind Syaoran and Sakura. Sure enough, two more portals lit up the air before two silhouettes walked through.

**

Homeworld would be expecting Fluorite Facet 2F8I cut DV2, or “Fai” as she started calling herself a couple of years ago, to make her regular report soon. She’d have to work quickly and carefully to make sure nothing was suspicious and they wouldn’t investigate beyond appearances.

There hadn’t been any life on this planet, but there were traces of some ancient civilization. And from what Fai could decipher, they had been very advanced. In some ways, they were even more advanced than Homeworld. 

This civilization had inter-dimensional travel. That meant two very important things: that Fluorite could leave Homeworld’s territory, and that she had to blow all traces of this technology so it would never get into the Diamond Authority’s hands. Hopefully if they investigated the disappearance of a scouting unit at all, they would assume it was the result of the dangerous nature of exploring planets. 

Finally, the last explosive in a chain was set up. Fai stood in front of an ancient gateway which read “Doorway to the Dimensional Witch.” Fai smiled up at the cracked Fluorite Gem on top of a staff which she wielded. She knew the other Gem wouldn’t be able to hear or see her consciously, but she still smiled and talked to the cracked Gem.

“Let’s go on an adventure!”

She tapped the control panel with the Gem, and it started up. She activated the closest explosive, then hastily ran through the inter-dimensional portal.

**

Kurogane’s sword was ready and he was still covered in Hyouga’s blood when he stepped through the magical portal. He inhaled sharply, tasting the barely-there scent Rei and Gai would leave. Looking around, here was surrounded by humans, or at least human-like people. Two teenagers in front of him were human except for pointed ears. The person beside him had a slightly unnatural skin tone, and her life force was a bit weird. But they clearly weren’t Ashu, so he dismissed their presence. None of these people here were really his concern.

“Who the hell are you? Where is this? Where are Rei and Gai?” Kurogane was interrupted in his questions by the person standing next to him. Kurogane glared at her, but at least she seemed to know that the person in front of them was some sort of “dimensional witch.” 

“The Dimensional Witch is one of my titles. The place you are in is a shop that grants wishes. So, tell me who you are.” Yuuko was looking prominently at Kurogane, so he spoke first.

“I’m Kurogane, an Ashu hunter. I need to find two Ashu… two demons. They found a way out of my dimension, so now I have to track them. I followed them through a portal here.” Kurogane glared at the dimensional witch accusingly. He knew that Rei and Gai had made it through the magical portal while he had been busy fighting Hyouga. The portal had remained open until the end of the fight, but Kurogane hadn’t had the time for anything but a split second decision to follow the Ashu. He’d worry about how to get home after Rei and Gai were dead. But if they weren’t here right now… they had come by this way recently. 

Yuuko’s smile was smug while Kurogane glared at her accusingly. “Ah, those two who came by yesterday? They purchased a dimensional travelling device from me. I’m afraid they’re both gone to another world, possibly several by now.”

Kurogane growled in frustration and held his sword tightly, trying to control his anger. “You helped two demons?!”

“I take all customers, which you should appreciate. I doubt anyone else would be willing to deal with someone like you, Kurogane.” Yuuko’s voice was mocking and knowing. Kurogane seethed at how easily she was able to see into him. She was obviously a powerful user of magic.

“But if you’re here, you must have a wish. So if you like, you can be my customer, too.”

“My wish,” Kurogane growled, keeping his temper by force of practice, “is to find those two Ashu and kill them.”

“Ooh. Another tall order, since those two have already left for another dimension. And you?” Yuuko asked the final person.

Fai smiled automatically at her. “Fai D. Fluorite. But just call me Fai. For a wish… I want to travel, as long as I don’t go back home.”

“Hmm… Inter-dimensional travel doesn’t come cheap, so none of you have anything that’s worth that. But if you paid together… maybe that’d be enough.”

“Enough for what? Can’t you just sell me the same thing you sold to Rei and Gai?” Kurogane interjected angrily.

“Nope! They had more to barter with than you do alone. So you see, if everyone pays a little of the price, you can afford something better. Of course that means you’ll have to travel together. No device I sell can take you directly to what you want. You’ll also be paying the price of time to meet your goals.

“The price you two will pay… are your identities,” Yuuko stated seriously, looking at the teenage elves. “Syaoran, if you do succeed in your quest, you will return to Hyrule, but not as Prince Syaoran. Your name will be forgotten by everyone in Hyrule.

“Sakura, you will never join the Sheikah Royal Guards or your tribe again. Your price is your Sheikah sight.”

Syaoran looked at Yuuko in shock. His price was his identity? Not just his title as Prince, but even his name would be gone. It seemed impossible. Didn’t he need to be the Prince of Hyrule to find the lost shards of Wisdom?

“I’ll do it,” Sakura spoke up before Syaoran. 

Syaoran looked at her in shock. “Sakura-chan… but your Sheikah eyes are a part of you.”

“I know. But everyone is relying on us to find the lost shards. And if we aren’t willing to do this then… there won’t be a home to go back to.”

“You’re right…” Syaoran looked at Yuuko, any doubt he had before gone after seeing Sakura’s own conviction. After all, Sakura’s dream was to be an elite Sheikah guard. Syaoran only really thought of his title as an obligation.

“I’ll do it, too.”

Yuuko held a pair of glasses in front of Sakura’s eyes. Slowly a red light transferred from her eyes to the glass lenses. When Syaoran looked at Sakura, her eyes were green. Syaoran waited for Yuuko to physically take something from him, but she moved on.

Yuuko turned her attention to Kurogane. “Your price is your ancestral sword.”

Kurogane’s grip tightened on his sword. Just the thought of losing his father’s blessed sword was enough to send a shiver of fear and rage through him. “Fuck you! I’m not handing over Ginryuu. Name a different price.”

“Your sword is your most valuable possession. Or you can just go “fuck off” to some other shop that sells inter-dimensional portal devices. Oh wait, there aren’t any in this world.”

Kurogane wanted to growl at her and possibly shred her to pieces. But he didn’t have much of a choice. He already made the choice to hunt down Gai and Rei. If he didn’t stop them, they would find a way to release the rest of their clan. And as it was, there was no way for Kurogane to get home. He repeated one of his father’s mantra a few times to calm down, and then handed over his sword.

“Don’t sell this off. I’ll be coming back for it.”

Yuuko turned her attention to Fai.

“And your price will be that staff you carry,” Yuuko’s tone was passionless and low.

Fai froze in shock for a moment. She couldn’t possibly… of course the Dimensional Witch would know the true meaning behind Fai’s staff, and the Gem on top.

“Ah, are you sure? I have quite a few pieces of technology stored away, as well as impressive knowledge I could give you.”

“No. That staff is your most precious possession. It is the only thing that can pay for your journey.”

Fai lowered the staff until she could easily touch the cracked Gem on top. She couldn’t risk staying here, and she couldn’t go back the way she came. The dimensional gateway she’d used was already blown apart. As long as she didn’t leave any traces, Homeworld would assume she was shattered while investigating a world with a dead civilization. For once, her expendability was working in her favor. But to trade away that other Gem…

“I suppose I have to trust you to take care of this. Please don’t break it.” Fai handed over the staff-embedded Gem and it levitated into Yuuko’s possession.

Yuuko finally turned to Syaoran. “I don’t have to take anything from you. You paid the moment you agreed to it. And now…” 

She pulled a small stuffed toy out of her sleeve. Or at least Syaoran thought it was a stuffed toy until she threw it at his face and it came to life.

“Meet Mokona!”


	2. Abaranger Earth

Before anyone could really process who or what the little white talking rabbit was, Mokona had sucked them into the vortex of her mouth and transported them away from the Dimensional Witch’s Shop. They landed in a new world somewhat awkwardly. Kurogane managed to fall into a crouch. It looked like Sakura almost accomplished the same thing before overbalancing and tumbling onto her face. Syaoran landed even worse, face planting in the soft ground. Fai waved her arms a bit, but managed to stay on her feet. The gem caught Mokona as she flew down from above them.

“Whee! Mokona had fun moving everyone to another dimension! Mokona hopes everyone else had fun, too!”

Fai held the little creature up and smiled brightly. “It was certainly a rush! So, we’re in a new dimension, hm?”

Fai looked around. Sakura was up and trying to see if Syaoran was all right, wiping the bits of grass off the teen’s face. Kurogane looked like he was having a conversation with the dirt, or doing something beyond Fai’s comprehension. The Ashu hunter’s hand was on the ground and his face scrunched in concentration. Before long he scoffed and stood, looking around as well. 

Just a short distance behind them, a man maybe in his 30s stood in the doorway of a house. He blinked in surprise, but wasn’t screaming or running away. 

Fai perked up her smile and waved cheerfully at him. “Oh hello! We didn’t mean to startle you. We’re just passing by.”

“Are you all… from another dimension?” 

“Yes we are!” The guy seemed to be taking this all pretty well, so Fai didn’t see a reason to make up a story. 

The man nodded and then opened the front door, calling inside the house. “Honey, I think we have guests!”

**

“So what dimensions are you all from?”

“Honey, that’s kind of rude to ask… We can ask them stories once they’re rested.”

“They won’t faint from talking. And obviously they’re not from the same dimensions. What else would I ask them?”

The man they first met smiled widely at them, wrinkles around his mouth hinting that it was a common expression for him. “Maybe introductions? I’m Hakua Ryouga. This straight-forward guy is Nakadai Mikoto. The kids are Mai, Kotaro, Koichiro, and Suzuki.”

The smallest kid, apparently Suzuki, was the one who had tried investigating Kurogane when he sat down before Mikoto had picked her up. She was still squirming in her father’s lap, wanting to investigate the strange guests. Mikoto held the toddler with experience, watching their guests curiously. Unlike Ryouga, he had long hair and a perpetually serious expression.

Ryouga had brought out enough hot tea and snacks for everyone. Fai was inspecting the tea cup as much as she was sipping at the steaming contents. 

“Please call me Fai! Thank you for being such gracious hosts. The little one over there is Mokona.” Mokona was playing with, and being tickled by, the two middle kids. 

The oldest child, Mai, looked around the age of the two elves. She sat by Sakura, looking at her ears and clothes with interest. “Your ears are neat. Does everyone have ears like you in your world? I guess people from every dimension look a bit different.”

Syaoran smiled politely at their hosts. “We have long ears because we’re elves. There are a couple of different kinds of people in our world. I’m Pri- Um, I’m Syaoran. This is Sakura.” It was going to take some time to get used to not calling himself a prince anymore. Sakura touched his elbow gently in comfort. Syaoran made an effort to smile at her.

Fai’s cheerful voice continued, not letting the conversation dwell on dip of mood, “And I believe this big scary guy was named Kuro-ashu.”

“It’s Kurogane! I’m an Ashu-hunter! Don’t call me an Ashu!” Kurogane slammed his teacup on the table, reaching for his side where sword once rested. Feeling suddenly bereft, Kurogane just glared harder at Fai.

Fai wasn’t even slightly startled. “Right, Kuro-hunter! But like you say, we are all from different dimensions. We just happened to meet at the same time at the Dimensional Witch’s shop. So now we’re travelling together!”

Ryouga hadn’t seemed bothered by Kurogane’s temper either. He smiled back at Fai. “Oh so you did meet Yuuko? Isn’t she great? She doesn’t get involved in things lightly. She helped us out a few years ago, you might say.”

Ryouga turned to Mikoto. He was still smiling, but now the smile had a gentler, loving quality to it. He reached over to grip the man’s left hand. Watching the interaction, Fai noticed for the first time that Mikoto’s left hand wasn’t organic, but a flesh toned artificial hand. Fai considered asking, but it seemed rude to bring it up. The two men held hands for a moment, and Mikoto seemed to smile slightly as well. Then Mikoto handed the squirming toddler off on the other man.

“I’m going to see how dinner’s coming. Keep Suzuki out of trouble.” With that, Mikoto left for the kitchen.

Ryouga struggled a little with the toddler before getting settled. “Haha, don’t mind him; he’s just shy. It takes him a while to warm up to new people. But I’m sure you can get on his good side by telling him stories about your travels.”

“Oi, you said you’ve dealt with dimensional travelers before? Have you run into two Ashu named Gai and Rei? They wouldn’t look human, more like monsters that were human sized.” Kurogane spoke up, having been content to ignore everyone until now. He hadn’t sensed the two Ashu when they first appeared, but he might as well ask.

“Um, no… the only other dimensional travels we ever met were from DinoEarth. We only talked to Yuuko through a video screen, you see. But she did mention that we might get visitors someday, so I guess that’s you four! Uh, I mean you five.” Ryouga added the last, looking at Mokona playing with his two middle children. “She said it would be hitsuzen…”

“Oh, she said that to us too! She said something about hitsuzen while we were getting sucked up by Mokona. But I didn’t really know what she meant.”

“Mokona knows!” Mokona said. She hopped up onto the table, waving her little stubby arms as if imitating Yuuko’s elegantly gesturing. “’There is no such thing as coincidence. Only hitsuzen.’ That means we were meant to come here and become friends!”

Kurogane scoffed loudly. “The only destiny I have is to hunt down Rei and Gai, and those two aren’t here. And I only have to do that because Yuuko interfered with those two.”

“Maybe Sakura and I were destined to come here, though. There might be a piece of the Triforce here.” At Ryouga’s and Fai’s inquiring looks, Syaoran elaborated. “The Triforce of Wisdom is a powerful magical artifact from our world, a golden triangle. It was broken into many pieces and scattered across dimensions. We have to find the pieces to save our world.”

“Oh, Mokona knows that too! Mokona can sense powerful magic like the Triforce, because Mokona is very talented!” Mokona happily bounced in front of Syaoran.

Syaoran gasped and lifted Mokona up to his face. “Mokona, that is amazing! Does that mean you can tell where it is in this world?” Mokona nodded enthusiastically.

Syaoran stood from his seat, looking ready to run out the door. “Then we should go find it!”

“But Syaoran, it’s dark now. And I doubt it’s really close, anyway. Shouldn’t you wait until morning? Besides, we have good company here,” Fai said calmly.

“Rushing into danger rarely does you any good,” Mikoto stood in the doorway leading to the kitchen. He was bringing a large serving bowl to the table. “It can at least wait until after you’ve had some curry, anyway. Mai, help me serve our guests.”

Syaoran meekly sat back down. After much discussion over dinner, they agreed they would go looking for the Triforce tomorrow morning, and possibly get a ride from Ryouga. 

“I work as a park ranger, you see. I make sure no one hurts the park, but they’re still able to walk around and enjoy it. If you really do think the Triforce has been hidden for a century, a national park might be a good place to look. That’d be one of the few places that haven’t been touched in a long time. Someone would have noticed a magic golden triangle downtown. If we go to the park tomorrow, and you sense it nearby, I’ll give you a map. Of course if it’s not there, you still get to enjoy our great walking paths!”

Ryouga was still all smiles and good nature. Syaoran was rather grateful they had found themselves with such a helpful host on their first dimensional stop.

“Thank you. You’re too kind. If there’s any way we can repay you…”

“Oh no, don’t think of it! Good hospitality is its own reward.”

Mikoto scoffed at Ryouga. Most of his attention was on trying to feed the toddler, but he was obviously listening to the conversation going on. “They could make the evening a little more exciting, at least. You still haven’t talked about the worlds that you call home.” 

Mikoto looked from one guest to the next. Fai was poking at her food and not actually eating anything. She perked up at the attention.

“Oh actually I’ve been to a lot of worlds in my home dimension. I really like travelling, you see. Actually once, I visited a world where everyone was this sentient cloud of gas…”

**

They were standing on a hiking trail at the nature preserve park. Mokona’s magical detection ability had led them this far along the trail. But now it seemed like they had to leave the well-tended path and climb over rocky terrain. Worse, Ryouga had warned them that this area had experienced several wild animal attacks recently, advising them to stay away if possible.

Sakura stood between Syaoran and the rocky hill.

“Your Highness… I mean Syaoran, you should wait here while I go scout ahead. I can’t let you get hurt. You’re the one who has to make it back to Hyrule with the Triforce.”

“Sakura! I’m not a prince anymore. My life isn’t any more important than yours, so I should be risking it just as much.”

“Maybe you don’t have the title… but you still have Zelda’s blood. The Triforce will want to be claimed by you. And I might not have the Sheikah gaze anymore, but I still have the training. I can handle a few obstacles.”

Syaoran looked like he wanted to argue more. His heart didn’t want to see her hurt on his behalf, but his mind knew Sakura was right. No one other than the Royal Family of Hyrule and the Legendary Hero had ever been able to touch the Triforce without being corrupted by power. That was why Syaoran had to go on this journey and not just send someone tougher and more experienced.

Syaoran’s eyes widened when a thought occurred to him. He turned to the Ashu hunter. “Kurogane, will you go with Sakura and make sure she stays safe?”

Kurogane scoffed, but shrugged as if he didn’t care. “There’s nothing better to do. And I sure as fuck am not going to wait around with the rest of you.” He glared down at Sakura. “Just don’t get in my way if there is anything nasty up there.”

“Don’t worry about me! I’ve fought monsters back home.” Most of those fights had been in controlled training exercises, but she was still sure she could handle what she had to.

“Mokona will come, too! Mokona will know which way to go!” Mokona hopped onto Kurogane’s head, eliciting a growl from the large man.

Fai put a light hand on Syaoran’s shoulder. “I’ll stay with Syaoran, then. I doubt I’d be much good against a wild animal. Syaoran and I will cheer you three on from here!”

**

There hadn’t been any bears or wolves. No, that would have been easier. There had been a shit ton of venomous spiders the size and temper of a rabid dog. At the first sign of danger, Mokona had crawled inside Kurogane’s long black jacket. The Ashu hunter had faced much bigger, uglier monsters than this before, even without his sword. He easily avoided letting any fangs bite into him, squishing each spider with a single punch.

Sakura had been practically powerless. Even though she technically had weapons, they were pretty useless against giant arachnids. She had thrown senbon at the spiders, but their thick exoskeletons protected them. Then she’d thrown flash bombs at large clusters of them. While it stunned the spiders for half a minute, she had hesitated too long to finish them off with the small dagger she carried. Kurogane ended up helping her, contrary to his earlier threat, to make sure she wasn’t ambushed by the little monsters.

“Um… thank you for helping, Kurogane. I don’t think I could have handled that many monsters on my own.”

Kurogane glared down at the tiny ninja. He shook the gore from the spiders off his fists. “No, but you should have been able to. If this quest of yours means shit to you, you’ll do better in your next fight.”

Wide green eyes stared at Kurogane, stunned. Sakura’s small, gore covered hand tightened the grip around her dagger. The moment was broken by Syaoran’s voice calling them.

“Sakura! Kurogane! We heard a commotion and… oh.” Syaoran and Fai made their way through the underbrush, finally close enough to see all the dead spiders. Syaoran rushed over to Sakura. “Are you all right? Were you hurt? They look venomous. Did you get bitten?”

Sakura smiled and shook her head. “I’m fine! But you should have stayed on the path. There might be more.”

“Mokona feels a really strong magic power very close! Mokona thinks it’s coming from inside there.” Mokona had come out from Kurogane’s jacket now that the danger was gone. She pointed just uphill, where there seemed to be a natural cave entrance.

Kurogane grumbled about all of this being a huge hassle. They all climbed higher until they were at the cave entrance. Fai inspected it from the outside.

“Hm, it looks like it gets pretty narrow up ahead. Kuro-chi definitely wouldn’t fit. And I might get scraped up. Looks like only Sakura, Syaoran and Mokona can go from here.”

“Don’t call me stupid names! You haven’t done shit so far. Why are you always sitting out on the real work?” Kurogane grumbled at Fai.

Fai dramatically pouted at the grumbly man. “Kuro-tan doesn’t appreciate me.”

Sakura was trying to wipe the gore off her hands and dagger. A slippery grip wouldn’t do her any good. “I’ll go first.”

Syaoran reluctantly nodded, then held up his hand. He produced a small ball of light from his palm. “I’ll give us some light, at least. I can still use magic.”

“So pretty! Mokona likes it!” Mokona hopped on Syaoran’s shoulder, admiring the tiny display of magic. Sakura smiled at Syaoran. The two of them entered the cave.

They carefully made their way through the cave. Some of it was quite narrow and they had to walk sideways through it. Even with Syaoran’s light spell, it was hard for Sakura to make out the protrusions on the wall and the ground, making her stumble more than once. She suddenly felt the pain of loss of her Sheikah vision.

“I… I don’t think those spiders were natural. You don’t think something evil has corrupted the Triforce, do you?”

“I don’t think so. Even in a pure state, a shard of the Triforce exudes a lot of magic. Those spiders probably weren’t malicious. They were just large. I don’t… I don’t think I feel a malicious intent in the air. Not like that man produced.”

If she were in the position to, Sakura would have squeezed Syaoran’s hand to reassure him. “Don’t worry. We’ll find all the Triforce shards in time. I have faith in both of us.”

They rounded a corner and suddenly there was more light than just the small globe in Syaoran’s hand. A soft golden light filled a larger alcove within the cave. A golden triangle, smaller than what Sakura expected, glowed within a stalactite. The two teenagers were awed by the sight, until both of them seemed to realize the problem.

“Um… how are we going to reach it? I don’t think we can climb the walls. It’s too slick,” Syaoran said, looking around.

Mokona jumped from Syaoran’s shoulder, aiming for the stalactite. She bounced right off it. “Waah! Mokona can’t get it out!”

“Um well, I have an idea. I could try lifting you on my shoulders, and then you could reach it. Do you think the Triforce would respond to your touch?” Sakura asked.

“Oh um… yes, we could try. I mean if I don’t weigh too much for you to lift.” Syaoran wasn’t sure how he felt about being lifted by someone his own size, but it was a good suggestion.

“I can do it! I’m stronger than I look!” Sakura ignored her own embarrassment and knelt in front of Syaoran. After some awkwardness on both their parts, she had Syaoran settled on her shoulders. Then she hefted both of them up.

At the new height, Syaoran could just touch the stalactite with his right hand. On contact, the Triforce glowed even brighter for a moment before sliding through the solid rock, into Syaoran’s hand.

“I got it! Woah!” Syaoran had overbalanced and now Sakura and he tumbled to the ground. But they were both laughing and looking at Syaoran’s hand, which now had a Triforce mark. The bottom right triangle glowed, representing wisdom.

“We got it!” Sakura hugged Syaoran tightly. Before Syaoran could feel too embarrassed, Mokona joined the hug. All three of them laughed with joy and relief. Syaoran didn’t know how many more pieces they had to find, but it felt really good to make progress so soon.

**

Back at their hosts’ house, Ryouga threw a small party for the group to celebrate their quest’s first success. Mai and Mikoto baked a cake. Kotaro and Koichiro put decorations on the walls and sometimes on their guests. 

“It’s good you were able to find that Triforce shard so easily. And maybe now there won’t be as many animal attacks in the park! I hope at least some of the other shards are as easy to find,” Ryouga said. 

“I hope so too, but we’ll be ready if it’s not.” Syaoran felt content by the success and the friendly company. Without even trying, Syaoran was sharing a warm smile with Sakura and his other travelling companions. Mokona was bouncing around from one person to the next.

“You should take some camping gear with you, just in case. You don’t know what kind of world you’ll always land in,” Ryouga suggested cheerfully.

“Oh, but we couldn’t! You’ve already been very generous hosts,” Sakura voice was hesitant. She already felt like they had been a burden to their hosts.

“Don’t think of it as a favor we’re doing you. We have more propane camp stoves than we know what to do with. The same goes for sleeping bags and other miscellaneous camping supplies. If it’s useless to us, but useful to you, why wouldn’t we give it to you?” Mikoto’s voice was level with just a trace of smugness.

“They’re still your things. We should at least pay you somehow…” Sakura trailed off, realizing that the rupee they carried maybe didn’t value as much here. Beside her, Syaoran winced slightly. They were both thinking that they had already traded what had been most valuable to them.

Fai tapped Sakura on the shoulder. She smiled gently at the two teenagers. “I think the polite thing to say would be, ‘Thank you so much.’”

“Of course!” Sakura blushed, and then turned back to their hosts. “Thank you so much!” Syaoran was also blushing, adding his thanks to Sakura’s.

Ryouga smiled back at them easily. “Ah, your happy faces are thanks enough. And if you come back to this world, make sure to stop by and share some more stories.”

Sakura and Syaoran let the happy atmosphere fill them. Fai and Mokona looked like they were having fun, too. Kurogane was more or less keeping to himself, and trying to fend Mokona off from the liquor Mikoto had brought out for the adults. None of them were close to the end of their individual quests, but this felt like a promising start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, that is AbaRed and AbaKiller 10+ years later, living as husbands with Mai and three other adopted babies. Basically, Yuuko told Ryouga that to survive, Mikoto had to cut off his left hand to remove the morpher that was going to explode. It saved his life, but he could no longer be a doctor. That worked fine for Mikoto, since he found a lot more “excitement” as well as contentment by following in love with Ryouga, and making a family. This chapter felt like way too much exposition and there wasn’t room for the AbaRed/Killer love story.

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a desire to see Fai as a gem and Sakura as an Action girl. Things escalated.


End file.
